Question

Hemoglobin is a protein that carries oxygen in red blood cells. The hemoglobin molecules produced by some people have one specific amino acid that is different from the amino acid at that position in normal hemoglobin.

Which of the following is the most likely cause of this amino acid variation?

Group of answer choices

The hemoglobin gene contains a mutation.

Enzymes replace the amino acid once the hemoglobin is produced.

An additional amino acid is mistakenly inserted into the hemoglobin during translation.

An error occurs during the folding of the hemoglobin protein.

Answer 1

My best guess is "The hemoglobin gene contains a mutation".

Step-by-step explanation:

Sorry, I'm not an expert so bear with me!

One more common hemoglobin-related mutation is sickle-cell anemia. It occurs when the amino acid in hemoglobin is substituted from glutamate to valine. It is considered a mutation and is a direct swap from one specific amino acid (glutamate) to a different amino acid (valine) in the same position in the hemoglobin. So, considering that our example (sickle-cell anemia) fits the criteria of swapping one amino acid for another in the hemoglobin, is a mutation, and is passed down genetically (meaning that the hemoglobin gene would need to carry the mutation) it does look a bit like it fits your parameters!

Thus, as I understand it the hemoglobin gene carrying a mutation would make sense as the most likely cause of the amino acid variation.

Again, this is based on 10 minutes of googling. I hope this helps, but apologies if I'm incorrect!! Good luck :)